Lending An Ear
Everyone has their reason for buying from our farm. Some want to support the local economy, others appreciate the garden fresh produce, many choose to eat organic as much as possible. Whatever the reason, we hear about it at the farmers markets week in and week out. Not that we mind, but we are often caught off guard by how much people tell us about why they are buying our produce.
Zucchini
Cucumbers
Green Beans
Collard Greens
Garlic Bulbs
Mini Romaine Lettuce
Spring Green Onions
Celery
Cilantro
Cherry Tomatoes (smalls)
Carrots (larges)
Kohlrabi (larges)
Most often, there is a health problem to share. Perhaps a doctor has suggested they eat more vegetables. Sometimes a dear friend has an ailment or terminal condition that may have been prevented by healthy eating. As our amazing customers are spilling their health details, we wonder if they tell all to the grocery store clerk? Or the cafeteria staff? Probably not. But that is the important part, they’ve established a relationship with us. There is a level of trust and they feel better knowing who produced their food.
Over the winter, Medford Aspirus contacted us about managing their farmers market prescription program. It is new to Medford, but not to the bigger cities around us. Through this program, a doctor can give their patient a prescription to purchase food at the market and it is paid for by their insurance. The patient brings their prescription to our booth much like they would walk up to the pharmacy counter. We give them a bundle of tokens in exchange for the card and they are free to spend their tokens on specific fruits, vegetables and herbs from local farmers.
What a great idea! We’ve known for years that healthy eating lays the foundation for a healthy life, and health professionals have found a new way to get their patients motivated to eat more vegetables and in some cases, make a life change.
This takes us to a moment when a new farm member was picking up her weekly share and declared, “Your CSA has changed my life.” After explaining how much better she was feeling after treating her diabetes with a healthy diet, we knew she was on track for a life change. We’re just glad to play a small part in it all.
Health coaches in disguise,
